S.A. teacher, student broaden horizons with educational Asian trip

By Leezia Dhalla, Contributing Writer :
August 20, 2013

Teacher Mare Stewart and student Cosmo Albrecht of the International School of the Americas, near Castle Hills, were part of a month-long educational trip to Southeast Asia. Here they're seen at the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum in Singapore's Chinatown.

One of the most profound ways to learn about culture is through travel. That's what Mare Stewart and Cosmo Albrecht learned in July, thanks to a U.S. State Department-sponsored educational program that sent the local pair to Southeast Asia for a month long, expenses-paid dive into sustainable development.

More than 100 U.S. high school students and teachers applied for a position in the Cultural Vistas American Youth Leadership Program, which requires participants to engage in education and service projects before heading overseas for an immersion experience.

Of the 20 people selected, Stewart and Albrecht were the only two from the greater San Antonio area. Both have ties to the International School of the Americas (ISA) at Lee High School, where Stewart is a ninth-grade world geography teacher and Albrecht is a rising senior.

Albrecht applied for the program after learning that its curriculum focused on three of his passions: international affairs, political science and environmental issues.

“Malaysia and Singapore seemed to be the perfect places in the continent to visit since they both serve as microcosms of the incredible diversity present in the region,” he said, adding that the trip marked his first visit to Asia.

Before leaving for the immersion experience, the students and teachers spent several months collaborating on pre-program projects virtually to learn more about the cultures of both countries.

They met each other in person for the first time at a pre-departure orientation, which took place at the end of June in Los Angeles.

From there, the group traveled together to Southeast Asia, where they participated in a series of cultural workshops, team-building exercises, community service projects, classroom lectures from university professors and sightseeing.

The first leg of the trip was a 12-day cultural immersion in Malaysia. During the second leg, the group spent 10 days in Singapore focusing on sustainable development.

In Malaysia, the group lived in dormitories at INTI International University and spent most of their time diving into the native culture through home stays with local families in Kuala Lumpur.

In Singapore, the group visited museums and botanical gardens. They also traveled to the National Library, an internationally acclaimed “green” building that is heavily shaded to reduce solar heat gain and uses light sensors to save energy.

They also went on an urban nature hike with the Nature Society, which seeks to preserve uninterrupted natural spaces and keep the national corridor as green as possible.

Albrecht said Southeast Asia presents solid learning opportunities for Americans in matters such as environmental initiatives and social policies, including freedom of religion and privacy issues.

“(It) was an opportunity few scholars even have,” he said.

Stewart said there are “so many lessons that we as a nation and we as San Antonio can learn” from Singapore, especially regarding traffic and roadway congestion.

“Their traffic system is so efficient. It's much easier to move around and there's no stigma associated with using public transportation,” she said.

“In the long term in San Antonio, we need better transportation to alleviate our congestion. (We can't just) add more roadways.”

For Stewart, the most rewarding part of the trip was learning about federal and local initiatives that “we can bring back to our own communities.”

She said her visit to Asia is a fertile starting point for her “to talk about how we can do things (in San Antonio) by thinking globally and acting locally.”

Since returning to their hometowns, the students and teachers are expected to implement local service projects that tie in the skills and teachings they learned during the cultural exchange.

Stewart said she wants her students to develop environmental policy changes and then present these ideas to San Antonio City Council.

Albrecht hopes to launch a student-run organization that could help improve the relationships of students in the various magnet programs, such as ISA.

“This sort of division is easily overcome in Asia, and applying Eastern concepts of unity to Lee is completely doable,” he said.

Albrecht also wants his club to incorporate sustainability tactics that would help boost engagement on campus, like carpooling, recycling and building a community garden in collaboration with students enrolled in Stewart's world geography courses.